A SOUTHPORT financial advisor believes schools are letting youngsters down when it comes to teaching about money.

Phil Melville of Argyle Financial Services, on Union Street, tried to fill the void with a brightly coloured website designed to help confused kids with their cash.

It offers advice on getting a mobile phone to organising bank accounts, buying a car to financing a gap year.

There is a quiz where readers can test how clued up they are about money matters by answering true or false statements.

Statements include “If you save into a pension scheme the government will give you tax concessions” and “All full-time university students qualify for the full student loan.”

Director Mr Melville, who has been an independent financial advisor for more than 25 years, said: “Most adults don’t know if these are true or false.

“The site is aimed at young people but we discovered parents and grandparents are finding it useful.

“There are things adults would like to ask but they don’t want to look stupid.

“People are so ignorant and they stumble into a bank or stumble through getting a mortgage and they don’t understand what they’re doing.”

Mr Melville hopes to catch youngsters early so when they inherit their parents’ money or make their own wealth, they will know how to deal with it.

Southport College senior pastoral tutor Nikki Kent said: “It is always good to see new resources for young people that help them with the responsibilities that they are beginning to face, such as managing bank accounts, coping with a first home and loans.

“A website that gives them hints and tips on all of this can only be a good thing.”

The site was launched last month and feedback from some of Mr Melville’s 600 clients has been positive.

He said: “At school, young people are being taught when the Battle of Hastings was but not how to deal with money.

“They get their first pay packet and are shocked by the amount of tax and national insurance, which has been taken out.

“They find their way by trial and error but this website helps them understand situations before they face them.”